Pearly Beach in Winter!

 We set off on the long drive south early on 3rd August. We had 940 kms to drive, before we got to Trevalia, our home for the night, which is just north of Beaufort West. The drive was long, but uneventful & we ate up the miles, arriving at the surprisingly early time of 16.30 hours. The chalet was spacious & well equipped & we soon settled down to a very comfortable evening in front of the TV! We would definitely recommend this stop to other travellers & we will stay there again on our future travels between Pretoria & Pearly Beach. 

It is cold in the Karoo this time of year & setting off early the next day was very chilly. However, the next 600 kms is a pleasure to drive, as first one crosses the Karoo & then you enter the Swartberg Mountains & the road is one of the most scenic in southern Africa. After a quick shop in Bredasdorp for shopping, we were soon at our house in Pearly just in time for the heavens to open & drench us as we were unpacking the car!

The 5th was all about unpacking & getting things organised but I did manage an evening seawatch. Surprisingly no Albatrosses or Whales noted. Best sightings were 16 Southern Giant Petrel close inshore; 29 Sooty Shearwaters & 5 Sub-antarctic (Brown) Skuas. It was pretty cold on the veranda, with frequent heavy squalls & gusting wind.

It is freezing here!

An evening seawatch on 6th produced: 3 Sub-antarctic Skuas; 2 White-capped Albatross; 1 Sooty Shearwater; 1 Southern Giant Petrel & 3 Cape Gannet. Saw my first Southern Right Whale of the season, but it was very distant.

The next day I did another evening seawatch: 2 Damara Tern is a good record for here; 2 Roseate Tern in summer plumage; 1 White-capped Albatross; 6 Southern Giant Petrel & 9 Sooty Shearwater.

The 8th August was filled with rain lashed gales, consequently impossible to conduct a seawatch. 19 Southern Crag Martins were sheltering on the side of the house.

Drinking champers at 9 am in the Church!

How the world has changed!

On Saturday we drove to Hermanus for the Arts Festival. We went to the Dutch Reformed Church for a recital & performance by Amanda Strydon, which was entertaining. 

Delana & Eric

On 10th Eric, Delana's brother, his wife & three friends dropped by. We went to the Whale Brewery for lunch & enjoyed a nice social time. 

The view from the house.

The 11th August dawned sunny & calm; the first nice weather we have had since arriving here. Thought I would do a bird walk along the coast, but had to return early, as not feeling too well.

Did a quick evening seawatch on 13th, which produced 44 Sooty Shearwater & a White chinned Petrel, but little else.

Evening seawatch on 14th produced c90 Sooty Shearwaters, but little else.

Beautiful weather today.

An evening sea watch on 16th produced both Southern & Northern Giant Petrels; 2 Giant Petrel sp.; a White chinned Petrel; a Sooty Shearwater & 3 Sub-antarctic Skua.

Didn't do much birding over the next few days. Sometimes it is just nice to relax & do other things. I spent time researching our forthcoming Madagascar trip & getting my blog up to date. We left Pearly for the long drive north on 22nd August. It had been a short, but welcome break here, but the first couple of weeks I suffered from the cold weather.